Just Ask The Question Newsletter - 4.19.24
Debauchery and Decadence. The American way!
Welcome back to the Just Ask the Question newsletter where we share insights on the White House and politics in general through podcast interviews, original articles and commentary.
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The ripple effects of Drowsy Don beyond the courtroom: The Trump trial is making everything weirder
The weird effects of Drowsy Don will be felt for years
In my mind, I was traveling through the hot, dry landscape of Nevada and headed toward the mecca of debauchery and decadence: Las Vegas. The Trump Tower shimmered in the distance like a mean-spirited heathen God of diseased greed; rapturous and belching out the capitalistic indulgence of America as if in the throes of passion.
I woke from my nap to see the beady little eyes of that orange-toned man on television in his ubiquitous white shirt, red tie and dark blue suit proclaiming his victimhood as his decades-long fleecing of America now has him cornered in a stuffy Manhattan courtroom while prospective jurors eye him like a caged orangutan that likes to fling its own feces at the crowd.
After one day in court, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman told us, Trump was essentially sleeping in the courtroom. As much as he wants to call Biden “Sleepy Joe,” he will forever be known as “Drowsy Don.” For the next month, Trump will sit like every other accused criminal in a court of law awaiting justice. Except he is making history as the first former president to be prosecuted for a felony.
A total eclipse of Donald Trump: First felony trial could finally humble him
Donald Trump faces the first of four felony trials in less than a week and boy is he scared
Total solar eclipsesover the heartland of America are rare. But they are totally normal celestial events.
Donald Trump isn’t rare these days; unfortunately, we see him every day. But his actions are increasingly abnormal. They’re getting that way because next week he’s potentially facing the first of four criminal trials which could lead to prison time for Trump. Three times a judge has denied him a motion that would delay his trial.
While philosophers may opine about the recent solar eclipse with far more erudition than I, let me simply say that it’s doubtful we took the hint. I know Trump didn’t. He has no ability to express humility.
With the efficiency and simplicity of someone flicking on and off a light switch, I witnessed from the birthplace of John Mellencamp (Seymour, Indiana if you can’t look it up) what millions across the country saw: The sun was turned off and then on, plunging us into total darkness and then back into the bright light of day three minutes later.
It was an awesome display of celestial mechanics, but pales in comparison to the mechanics of the justice system holding Donald Trump accountable for his disruptive, divisive and illegal activities. Much as the ancient viewers of total solar eclipses once were, Trump today is in the pit of despair – and he’s melting down.
Across The Broken Border - 1985
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How long has the US's southern border been an issue? White House reporter Brian Karem's five piece series covering the Mexican-American border is nearly 40 years old now. The similarities to today's border are startling. What has changed? Why has it stayed the same?
Ep: 260 - Just Ask the Press - Iran, Israel and Aid for Ukraine
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This week on Just Ask the Press, the latest ongoing dispute in the Middle East and Iran, Donald Trump goes to trial this week, while Joe Biden tries to find his footing on the International stage. This and much more on Just Ask the Press.
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Say it bluntly: The president just moved heaven and earth
Joe Biden just had a come to Jesus meeting on a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu
It sounded like an ultimatum.
Thursday President Biden spoke for about 30 minutes with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The call came after Biden took it in the shorts from a variety of critics after the IDF killed humanitarian workers in Gaza. Biden told Netanyahu the “overall humanitarian situation is unacceptable” and that there was a clear need for “Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.”
According to the readout of the call provided by the White House, Biden also said he made it clear, “that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
In my neighborhood, that’s called an ultimatum, and one could only imagine what the conversation with Netanyahu was actually like. On background, some administration officials said it would be a stretch to say it was characterized as a “shot across the bow” to Netanyahu.
Ep: 259 - Gabriel Shipton - When will Julian Assange be free?
This week on Just Ask the Question. The U.S. continues to show its support for U.S. journalist Evan Gerskovich who has been jailed in Russia for a year for doing his job, but on April 11, Julian Assange will have spent 5 years in prison for publishing Wiki Leaks. The U.S continues its pursuit of Assange while members of Congress, world leaders and other journalists clamor for his release. What's the difference? This week a court in England gave Assange new hope for freedom - or did it? That and more on this special episode.
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Ep: 257 - James Mawhinney - how do we solve global misinformation?
James Mawhinney is the controversial Australian entrepreneur some have called "Incorrigible".
His latest incorrigible idea: His company is the owner of media.com where he wants to create a social media townhall where all users are registered and all information is vetted. Is it possible? That's this week on Just Ask the Question.
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Biden pitches tax plan in Pennsylvania as Trump stews in court
Trump: ‘I should be right now in Pennsylvania, in Florida, in many other states ... campaigning’
President Joe Biden pitched voters Tuesday in Pennsylvania — a crown jewel among swing states — on his tax record and ideas a day after Donald Trump posted a video on social media attacking the incumbent on that very issue.
“While you work hard and pay your taxes, Trump wants to give his billionaire friends the power to avoid paying even what they already owe, not what they should be paying,” Biden said. “Folks, he’s coming for your money, your health care, your Social Security. And we’re not going to let it happen.”
Speaking to voters in Scranton, Biden pitched the overall tax code as a way to pay for things voters want, including health care, education and defense, while knocking Republicans’ long-held doctrine of Ronald Reagan’s “trickle-down economics,” a version of which Trump also describes in public remarks.
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